THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Madhabi Mukherjee, who played the intelligent, beautiful Charu in Satyajit Ray’s 1964 masterpiece, Charulata, radiates the morning mirth as she welcomes DC. She has won the Urvasi award but wonders whether working in a movie with the award in mind will ever make the grade. That’s not how a masterpiece is born. When Charulata was made, what was on her mind was, put her maximum effort into it. She always tries to ensure her current project is the best, even better than the next. "When Charulata was made even the director was not sure on how the film would be received. The only thing we were sure was we put our maximum effort in it”, said Madhabi.
On Charulata, her film being screened at IFFK, she said it was very easy working with Ray. Nothing was complicated. She recalls working with Ray was different from working with Ritwik Ghatak or Mrinal Sen. When Dibratrir Kabya was made there were many complications. One of the directors broke his leg during the outdoor shoot on Puri beach and she herself saved Anjana Bhowmik, the other actor, who was actually pulled away by the sea. “It was a miracle”, she said in an incredulous sigh.
Honoured at the IFFK for her films spanning half a century, Madhabi was all praise for Kerala and south Indian films, though she has not watched many. “I liked the gesture at Nisagandhi when everyone lit a candle in memory of cyclone victims... Prakash Raj’s offhand speech was very good.” Occasionally her assistant translated her Bengali. South Indian films are really good which is why they are remade in North Indian languages. She does not find much in common between Bengal and Malayalam films. “How can they be similar? The way you are different from me and I am different from you, every person is different and so is every film. Every film is unique in its own way.
“Malayalam films deal with the people at the grassroots and are rich in social contexts, rooted in reality. Bengal films in general have a paucity of socially relevant material and border more on fiction”. She had watched south Indian films when she was a juror at IFFI, Goa. “I do not remember the name of the last South Indian film I watched. I do not like being a part of the jury because there are always some political groups as well as others lobbying for their preferred films.” She reacted strongly to Padmavati controversy, saying there can be no two opinions on the importance of freedom of speech for a director. “People should judge films after watching them. No one should try to curb the creativity of directors”, said Madhabi, as she got ready for the day's activities. She would be attending her film's screening on Sunday.
